Jan., '08] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II 



matters, and no harm will result if left in the oven an hour or 

 two a day. 



We shall be pleased to furnish (free of cost) a sketch of our 

 tank and oven in detail to those interested in the preservation 

 of larvae, upon application, hoping thus to stimulate a more 

 general interest in this very important branch of the study of 

 lepidoptera. 



We shall be pleased to exchange inflated or live larvae with 

 those interested during the coming season. 



Please address Merrick Museum, New Brighton, Pa. 



Annihilating the Codling Moth.* 



PROF. A. L. MELANDER, Pullman, Wash. 



To trace step by step the advances made in the fight against 

 the codling moth is an instructive lesson of the importance of 

 applied entomology. Here is a pest that for ages has rendered 

 almost worthless a large percentage of the apples the farmer 

 produced. The money loss to the community annually mounted 

 to the millions of dollars, and before the clays of economic en- 

 tomology there was no method of checking this enormous 

 drain. Early study by the entomologist showed the tree-de- 

 scending habits of the mature worm, and gave the hint of trap 

 bands to be placed around the trunk. These bands trapped 

 somewhat less than one-half of the worms, but did not protect 

 one-half of the fruit crop. 



The discovery of Paris green and the invention of the spray 

 pump added more to the crop, but the strength of the spray, 

 the number of sprayings necessary, and the dates of their 

 application had all to be determined by laborious experiment. 

 In the early days of Paris green, scarcely forty years ago, it 

 was considered an achievement to save sixty per cent, of the 

 crop, even if a dozen sprayings were given. 



Further study of the moth's life history indicated that ti.iee 

 or four sprayings properly timed were all that were needed. 

 Experimental applications of various insecticides showed that 

 arsenate of lead was superior to Paris green. The advent of 



* Contribution from the Zoological Laboratory of the State College of Washington. 



